Yigu will focus on the relationship between milling engineering and manufacturing processes, starting from the basic definition and core principles, deeply analyzing its specific impact on production efficiency, cost, and product quality, and then exploring the changes brought about by technological progress. Use conversational language to break down professional content to help you clearly grasp the core value of milling engineering in the manufacturing industry, whether you are a manufacturing manager or a technical practitioner, you can get targeted cognition and reference from it.
1. Introduction
1.1 Define the milling project
Milling engineering is an engineering technology system in mechanical manufacturing that drives the milling cutter to rotate and cooperates with the feed movement of the workpiece to remove material, so as to obtain the required workpiece shape, size and surface quality. It is not a single machining operation, but a systematic technology covering multiple links such as tool selection, parameter setting, and quality control, and is one of the core processing methods in the field of discrete manufacturing, which is widely used in the key links of part forming processing.
1.2 Importance of Milling Engineering in Manufacturing
Milling engineering is the "cornerstone technology" of the manufacturing industry, and its importance is reflected in the breadth of industry coverage and processing core: from precision parts in aerospace to the powertrain of automobiles, from the microstructure of electronic equipment to the cavity machining of molds, almost all mechanical manufacturing fields are inseparable from milling technology. According to industry statistics, milling accounts for more than 35% of the total global machining volume, and more than 50% in the field of high-end manufacturing. Its technical level directly determines the core competitiveness of manufacturing enterprises, affecting the accuracy, performance and production efficiency of products.
2. The basic principle of milling engineering
2.1 Basic concepts of the milling process
The core of the milling process is the synergy of "rotational cutting + feed movement": the main movement is the high-speed rotation of the milling cutter, which is responsible for the cutting separation of materials; the feed movement is the straight or curved movement of the workpiece to ensure the continuous progress of the cutting process. Compared with other cutting methods, the core advantage of milling is that the milling cutter has multiple cutting edges working alternately, which can not only reduce the load of a single cutting edge, but also improve the machining efficiency, and at the same time realize the integrated processing of various features such as planes, grooves, curved surfaces, and gears, with strong adaptability.
2.2 Types of milling tools and equipment
The selection of milling tools and equipment directly determines the machining effect, and the core types and adaptation scenarios are shown in the table below:
| category | Specific types | Core features: | Adapt to the scenario |
| Milling equipment | Ordinary milling machine (vertical/horizontal) | Manual control, simple operation and low cost | Small batches, simple parts processing |
| Milling equipment | CNC Milling Machine (CNC) | Program control, high degree of automation, stable accuracy | Medium volume, complex parts processing |
| Milling equipment | Machining centers | Multi-process integration, automatic tool change, extremely high efficiency | Large-volume, high-precision complex parts processing |
| Milling tools | High-speed steel milling cutters | Good toughness, impact resistance, low cost | Mild steel, cast iron and other common materials are processed |
| Milling tools | Carbide milling cutters | High hardness, high temperature resistance, and long life | precision machining of high-strength steel, aluminum alloy, etc |
2.3 Influence of milling parameters on machining quality
The core milling parameters include cutting speed, feed rate, and back-eating tool volume, which have a direct and critical impact on machining quality: (1) Cutting speed is too low to produce edges, resulting in poor surface roughness of the workpiece; too high will accelerate tool wear and affect dimensional accuracy; (2) Excessive feed is easy to cause the cutting force to increase and the workpiece to be deformed; if it is too small, it will reduce production efficiency; (3) Too much back eating knife is easy to cause chatter, and too small will increase the number of processing. Case: When a precision mold factory was machining a cavity, the tool wore out too quickly due to the high cutting speed, and the size error of the workpiece exceeded 0.02mm, and after adjusting the cutting speed from 1200m/min to 800m/min, the dimensional error stabilized within ±0.005mm.
3. The impact of milling engineering on the manufacturing process
3.1 Improve production efficiency
Milling engineering continues to optimize the efficiency of the manufacturing process through technological upgrades: on the one hand, the application of CNC milling and machining center realizes multi-process integration, reducing the number of workpiece clamping times and process switching time, for example, an auto parts factory uses a machining center to process the engine block, integrating the original 8 processes into 3 processes, and increasing production efficiency by more than 60%; On the other hand, the application of high-speed milling technology increases the cutting speed to 3~5 times that of traditional milling, greatly reducing the machining time of a single piece. At the same time, optimized tool selection, such as coated tools, further extends tool life and reduces tool change downtime.
3.2 Reduce production costs
Milling engineering reduces the total manufacturing cost from three dimensions: (1) efficiency improvement brings about a reduction in processing time per unit product, directly reducing labor costs; (2) high-precision milling reduces the scrap rate, according to statistics, the scrap rate of enterprises using precision CNC milling can be reduced from 5%~8% of traditional processing to less than 1%, greatly reducing material waste; (3) tool management optimization and automation technology combine to reduce tool loss and labor intervention costs. For example, after an electronic component factory introduced a CNC milling production line, the processing cost per unit product was reduced by 25%, and the return on investment cycle was only 8 months.
3.3 Improve product quality and accuracy
Technological advancements in milling engineering directly promote product quality upgrades: modern CNC milling has a positioning accuracy of up to ±0.001mm, meeting the precision requirements of high-end manufacturing; for example, an aviation parts company uses five-axis CNC milling blades, which increases product shape and position tolerance consistency by 80%, significantly reducing the difficulty of subsequent assembly. In addition, the optimization of milling technology makes it possible to process complex surfaces, expanding the product design space and improving product performance.
4. Technological progress in milling engineering
4.1 Development of CNC milling technology
CNC milling technology has developed from traditional three-axis CNC to five-axis linkage CNC, realizing all-round machining of complex special-shaped parts, especially adapting to the precision needs of aerospace, high-end equipment and other fields. At the same time, intelligent upgrades of CNC systems (such as Fanuc 31i and Siemens 840D) realize adaptive adjustment of machining parameters and real-time monitoring of tool wear, further improving machining stability and accuracy. Data show that the application of five-axis CNC milling has improved the machining accuracy of complex parts by more than 50% and the machining efficiency by more than 40%.
4.2 Combination of automation and intelligent manufacturing
The deep integration of milling engineering, automation and intelligent manufacturing has reshaped the manufacturing process: on the one hand, the collaboration between robots and milling equipment has realized unmanned production, which can operate continuously 24 hours a day, greatly increasing production capacity; On the other hand, the application of IoT technology realizes the data collection and analysis of the milling process, and optimizes machining parameters and production plans through big data. For example, the milling production line of an intelligent manufacturing factory has increased production efficiency by another 15% through data-driven parameter optimization, and the product qualification rate has stabilized at more than 99.8%.
4.3 Application of new materials and processes
Breakthroughs in new materials and processes have expanded the application boundaries of milling engineering: (1) the application of carbide tool materials (such as PCD and PCBN) has realized the efficient milling of difficult-to-machine materials such as ceramics and composite materials; (2) The promotion of green milling technology, the use of environmentally friendly cutting fluid and dry milling technology, reduces environmental pollution and subsequent treatment costs; (3) The development of micro milling technology has realized the processing of micron-level micro parts and adapted to the needs of high-end fields such as electronics and medical care. These innovations allow milling engineering to adapt to the needs of more emerging manufacturing sectors.
5. Conclusion
Milling engineering has deeply reshaped the core competencies of manufacturing processes by increasing production efficiency, reducing costs, and improving product quality. From basic ordinary milling to intelligent five-axis milling, its technological progress has always resonated with the upgrading needs of the manufacturing industry. In the future, with the further penetration of automation and intelligent technology, milling engineering will play a more critical role in high-end manufacturing and green manufacturing, and become one of the core driving forces to promote the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry.
【Yigu Technology's Perspective】Milling engineering is an important entry point for the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, and its optimization value for the manufacturing process is irreplaceable. Yigu Technology believes that the core of future milling engineering development is "intelligent collaboration", which requires deep integration of data collection, AI optimization and automated control. We will continue to make efforts to develop intelligent monitoring equipment for the milling process, and help enterprises achieve intelligent upgrading of the milling process through accurate tool wear monitoring and real-time feedback on machining accuracy, reducing costs and increasing efficiency while enhancing core competitiveness.
FAQ
1. How does milling engineering adapt to the development needs of intelligent manufacturing? The core is through data, automation, and collaborative adaptation: real-time collection and analysis of milling process parameters, combined with AI algorithms to optimize processing parameters; cooperate with industrial robots and Internet of Things systems to build unmanned milling production lines; Open up the data link between the milling link and the upstream and downstream processes to realize the intelligent scheduling of the whole manufacturing process.
2. What are the core criteria for selecting milling equipment in different manufacturing industries? It is necessary to accurately select the type according to the needs of the industry: the mass production industry gives priority to the machining center (high efficiency and high integration); The precision parts industry gives priority to five-axis CNC milling machines (high precision, suitable for complex processing); Ordinary milling machine can be selected for the small batch simple parts industry (low cost and flexible operation); The difficult-to-machine materials industry requires superhard tools and high-performance CNC equipment.
3. What are the key points of milling engineering to reduce production costs? The key lies in three points: first, to improve production efficiency through technological upgrading and shorten the processing time of a single piece; second, optimize milling parameters and tool selection to reduce scrap rate and material waste; The third is to promote automation transformation, reduce manual intervention, and reduce labor and management costs.
4. What are the new requirements for operators in technological advancements in milling engineering? Three core competencies are required: first, CNC programming ability, mastering G/M code and mainstream CNC system operation; second, intelligent equipment operation and maintenance capabilities, understanding the basic principles and troubleshooting of automation and monitoring systems; The third is the ability to interpret data, which can optimize parameter settings through processing data and improve the processing effect.
